What if Bolts kept Eli instead of trading for Rivers?

New York Giants' Eli Manning answers questions during a media availability, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Giants will face the New England Patriots in the NFL football Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5.(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
— AP

New York Giants' Eli Manning answers questions during a media availability, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Giants will face the New England Patriots in the NFL football Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5.(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
/ AP

“I’ve always thought Eli was an excellent pure passer,” Rivers said by phone this week from San Diego, where he had just returned after playing in his second Pro Bowl. “I’ve always thought he never got enough credit.

“He’s a perfect example of steadiness, staying the course, not ever blinking. He’s taken a lot of criticism, and he hasn’t flinched. I really root for him. I finally think he’s getting the credit he deserves.”

Roman Oben, a left tackle who was acquired in a 2004 trade in which the Chargers sent Tampa Bay one of the picks it acquired in the Manning-Rivers trade, is now around the Giants in his role as radio analyst.

“In his eighth year, what he’s done is really matured,” Oben said. “When you lose Plaxico Burress, you (lose) Steve Smith, now he really had to carry that offense on his shoulders. … If Eli continues to put together a string of season like he had this year, in five years he’ll be the best quarterback in Giants history, he’ll crack into that top eight or nine and we’ll be talking about a Hall of Famer.

“You saw Phil light it up early; great numbers. Then you start losing talent (around him), you don’t have the defense that is going to get you the ball and make things easier for you … I think Phil is still a better pure quarterback. But I think Eli has better leadership. He’s calm in the pocket. … It’s not about the numbers. It’s about the wins, the leadership, the two-minute (offense), not fumbling the snap, not making the mistakes.”

Conversely, it’s only fair to ask if Rivers would perhaps be a Super Bowl winner if the Chargers had drafted Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul and put them on their defensive line as have the Giants. Manning’s numbers weakly stack up to Rivers’ in almost every way — including a .580 winning percentage in the regular season that is 76 points lower than Rivers’ — but he has benefited from having on his side a defense that perennially makes big plays.

So, too, perhaps if Tim Tebow were in Dallas and not Denver, the Chargers could have sneaked into the playoffs this year. Both the Chargers and Giants were 7-7 after 14 weeks this season, and Romo’s overthrow in the season finale played as big a role in the Giants being in the postseason as Tebow’s magic did in the Chargers staying home.

Head coach Norv Turner is mindful that the Chargers were a game away from facing the Giants in Super Bowl XLII four years ago. There can be no doubt that Turner remains unabashed in his belief Rivers will one day make the confetti rain after the final game of the season.

“There is no question Philip has played at that level, that he’s a guy who can go into football games and beat the best teams,” Turner said. “Unfortunately, in the two games we’ve been in that get you to that next level, we didn’t play as well as we’d have liked to play.